Brumbies v Shorks preview

The CA Brumbies have named an unchanged line up for the 4^th week in a row to take on the Sharks on Saturday night. The Canberra based side will be hoping that continuity and momentum will give them the edge over the Sharks who have not won in Canberra since a 41-23 win in 1998.

The Brumbies will be looking to play some entertaining rugby to capture the attention of the fans they felt they let down last week in not capturing the elusive bonus point. Along with the Force, the Brumbies are the only teams yet to register a bonus point in 2010.

Both Captain Stephen Hoiles and Coach Andy Friend are wary of a Sharks backlash and won’t be underestimating the Sharks who will be looking to bring a physical game. Hoiles believes that patience within the team will see them secure their 4^th win of the season.

Halfback Josh Valentine is happy with the how the team is progressing and will be looking to build on his partnership in the halves with Matt Giteau to get the team playing their best Rugby towards the back end of the season.

The only concern this week was the absence at training of fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper who was missing due to a bout of conjunctivitis. He has recovered and will take his place in the starting lineup.

The Sharks will be looking to build on last week’s showing where they were right in the game until a controversial ending ruined their chances of getting their first win of the season. The team from Durban has made some rotational changes in the forwards with Captain John Smit starting at tight head and will team up alongside Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawawira in the front row.

The ladder may show them as 0-4 however 3 of those defeats have come with a chance of winning which proves they aren’t playing that poorly and could easily be 2-2 or better. With the playing roster on hand for coach John Plumtree, Supporters of the Sharks would have expected better results so far and would be feeling disappointed in a season which promised so much.

The inconsistent form of the Sharks halves has led to several combinations being tried without success in the opening weeks which was brought about by a season long back injury suffered in the pre-season to Argentinean import Juan Hernandez. This led to the acquisition of English player Andy Goode who has only joined the team recently for the overseas tour.

BRUMBIES		SHORKS
Ben Alexander	1	The Beast
Stephen Moore	2	Bismarck du Plessis
Salesi Ma’afu	3	John Smit ©
Ben Hand	4	Steven Sykes
Mark Chisholm	5	Johann Muller
Rocky Elsom	6	Jacques Botes
George Smith	7	Willem Alberts
Stephen Hoiles ©	8	Ryan Kankowski
Josh Valentine	9	Ruan Pienaar
Matt Giteau	10	Andy Goode
Francis Fainifo	11	JP Pietersen
Christian Lealiifano	12	Riaan Swanepoel
Stirling Mortlock	13	Adrian Jacobs
Pat McCabe	14	Odwa Ndungane
Adam Ashley-Cooper	15	Stefan Terblanche
	Res
Huia Edmonds	16	Craig Burden
Guy Shepherdson	17	Jannie du Plessis
Justin Harrison	18	Alistair Hargreaves
Mitchell Chapman	19	Jean Deysel
Patrick Phibbs	20	Keegan Daniel
Matt Toomua	21	Rory Kockott
Tyrone Smith	22	Waylon Murray
Match Officials Referee: Garratt Williamson (NZ) Ass. refs: Simon Moore (Aus) & TBA TMO: Matt Goddard (Aus)

The Green & Gold Rugby Official Match Day Team List is available for download here.